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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25684483">some strange angel</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pekudzu/pseuds/pekudzu'>pekudzu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Lesbian Relationship, Comfort, Cuddling, F/F, Fluff, No Plot/Plotless, Nonbinary Catra, Post S5E6 (Taking Control), Trans Adora (She-Ra), Trans Female Character, Validation, adora is stupid, dear god is this self-indulgent, so much fucking comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:15:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,774</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25684483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pekudzu/pseuds/pekudzu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>extremely self-indulgent trans adora + nonbinary catra fluff post s5e6 .  i listened to car seat headrest and girl in red on loop whilst writing this</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>132</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>some strange angel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their bodies both ache. Adora feels the hand move up the small of her back, claws gently trailing from the back of the sports bra, finding its way to the top of her shoulder where it seems to stop. They are both so, so tired - She-Ra’s magic can only do so much to help Adora, and Catra is left on her own to heal from the hell that her time on Prime’s ship had put on her. Catra uses her newfound grip to pull herself closer to Adora, shuffling those few millimetres forward that, in the moment, seemed to be a chasm between the two. </p><p>Catra lets her arm go limp, the pull of gravity too strong for her body to resist for too long. Adora takes the opportunity to lean her head forward, allowing Catra’s head to nestle into the crook of her neck. If Catra has complaints about this arrangement, she doesn’t voice them - Adora even thinks she feels a silent smile against her skin.</p><p>“Hey,” Catra whispers. The croak in her voice hurts Adora worse than the bruises. “I think I'm gonna sit up for a bit," God, the weakness in her voice almost makes Adora forget to actually help.</p><p>“Yeah. Do you need any help?” she replies. “Do you want me to pick you up?” Adora tries not to let her tone betray just how concerned for Catra she really was, but that only made her worry infinitely more transparent. Catra isn’t bothered, though - she’s ok with a little bit of pity if it comes from Adora’s mouth and from inside of the comfort of her arms.</p><p>“No, I think I just need you to help me bend my back up,” Catra says. “I’m not doing crunches right now.”</p><p>Adora chuckles and starts to pull away from the embrace. Ever so painstakingly slowly, she breaks interlocked hands, pulls her head upwards and back, creates a rift between the two until they both lie distant from one another again. She shuffles behind Catra, pulling her body up and forwards until she sits upright, propping her back up against a wall. The action only solidifies Adora’s concern in her head - she almost refuses to believe that Catra could be this weak in her arms.</p><p>“I’m gonna get you some food,” Adora says, more gentle than before. “I think Glimmer made some extra last night. I’ll get you some water too.”</p><p>“Thank you,” she mumbles. Catra would typically resist, tell anyone else to leave her alone, that she could take care of herself. But Adora wasn’t anyone else. Adora could see her vulnerable, <em>has</em> seen her vulnerable.</p><p>As the door shuts behind Adora, Catra finds herself contemplating. She knows that’s not the right word, but she doesn’t know what the right one is. Not sure if there is one. She finds herself drawn back to thinking about Prime, despite the absence of the chip - she knows it’s not the flashes anymore; it’s just not the same. Her time spent completely losing the agency that she had fought so hard to gain her entire life, the way it was taken away from her in one fell swoop. Catra’s hand clenches. The fact that Adora was able to bring her out of it so quickly - that she had done so with such complete faith in Catra. It honestly <em>hurt</em> to know how much Adora loved her despite everything, but that was always Adora; ever the bleeding heart.</p><p>“I’m back!” The door opens back up. “The buns got a little stale, but they should still be good. Water’s in the cup,” Adora lays the tray down next to her and the memories tighten her hand, whiten her knuckles.</p><p>“Catra, are you alright?” The concern in Adora’s voice is palpable as she reaches for Catra’s hand, brow furrowed with worry. </p><p>“You don’t-” Catra stops her sentence early, snatches her wrist away from Adora’s hand, years of defensive instincts betraying her trust in her. As Adora recoils, Catra breathes in, then out, clearly trying to relax herself. “I… thanks. For worrying about me. Just don’t touch me without asking. Please,” She breathes again, allowing her shoulders to drop a little.</p><p>“Catra…” The grief in the blonde’s voice is almost tangible, her voice hoarse and her heart heavy. “I just want you to be ok. That’s all I want.”</p><p>Tears well at the corner of Catra’s eyes. “I know, Adora. Me too,” She leans down towards the tray, grabbing for one of the buns. “You hungry too?” she asks, tilting her head towards the food in her hands. “Because if you want one of these, you’re going to have to get in before they’re gone,” Adora smiles, grabbing a bun for herself as she moves to sit next to catra against the wall. Catra’s eyes suddenly light up. </p><p>“Oh! by the w-” Catra remembers that talking with a mouth full of food isn’t particularly effective. She takes a second to chew, tapping her foot in a combination of impatience and anticipation. “By the way, what’s going on with those things on your stomach? My hand kept bumping into them earlier.” Adora’s confusion is evident - but it breaks after a few seconds. Her eyes light up in turn, and she gets to explaining.</p><p>“Perfuma gave me these when we first forged the alliance,” she says, voice full of excitement. “They do something with… I’m not quite sure, actually. Something to do with chemicals? Entrapta explained it to me at some point, but it was a little…”</p><p>“Advanced for you?” God, Catra’s face is smug.</p><p>“I didn’t fully understand it,” Adora says through half-lidded eyes and gritted teeth. “Anyway, the point is - they do something with the way I grow. Remember how the Horde didn’t do anything except say ‘she’ around me? These gave me <em>boobs</em>, Catra,” Adora’s grinning now. “How much ass does that whip. Boobs! On me!” Catra chuckles at this - she could tell Adora more about this, tell her that even she knows what a hormone is, but she’s having too much fun. Besides, she doesn’t quite want to let her know just how happy she is for her. That can wait until they aren’t sitting on the floor. Or in a spaceship. </p><p>“-I mean really, I appreciate them and all, but I wish Perfuma would make them a little less itchy,” Adora pauses. “You’re not listening, are you.”</p><p>“No,” she admits through her dopey grin. She leans her head on Adora’s shoulder, the wave of comfort almost instant. “But I was thinking, couldn’t you just get one of those Rebellion sorcerers to poof everything up instantly? Seems like it’d be easier.”</p><p>“Oh, I asked Angella about that. She said something about glamours like that being temporary, that not even the best sorcerers could make them permanent,” Adora says. “Besides, I kind of… prefer this way? There’s something about the journey that makes it truly gratifying.”</p><p>“You got that line from Perfuma, didn’t you.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Catra sees an opportunity to segue into something she’s been thinking about.<br/>“You know,” she says. “I’ve been thinking about the whole… Gender thing, lately. I admired Double Trouble so much for using their pronouns back in the horde, and I think it was because I was…” Catra visibly struggles to get the words out. “Iwasinterestedinusingpronounslikethat?” <em>Ah, they fucked that up</em>. Catra lifts their gaze to the absolutely glittering eyes of Adora. If Sparkles wasn’t such a heavy sleeper, they could’ve sworn she’d done something to them.</p><p>“I love you so much Catra oh my god I’m so happy for you it means so much that you trust me enough to tell me that do you want me to use them more do you want to try any other ones i love y-”</p><p>Catra interrupts her. “Adora, I love you with all of my heart, but I literally cannot understand a single word that you are saying.” At this, Adora takes a second to breathe. Catra can tell she learnt that one from Perfuma, too.</p><p>“Okay, okay.” Adora lets out one final exhale. “Okay. Are there any specific ones you want to go by?”<br/>The tone she’s taken is much more calm and precise now - Catra can tell she’s holding her enthusiasm back, the flapping of her hands giving her excitement away.</p><p>“I’m not sure, actually. I guess whatever for now? But mostly they. I guess I wanna mess around, find what feels most comfortable,” they say, words finally seeming to come out like they want them to. “All I really know right now is that the whole traditional femininity thing doesn’t really work with me. I don’t know, it’s weird - I prefer being called more masculine things? Like, being called pretty doesn’t really make me feel bad per say, but it doesn’t feel right.” They steal a look up at Adora - she’s still beaming like an idiot.</p><p>“I love you so much, Catra.” Adora leans down into them a little more, wraps her arms around them. “You wanna go back to bed? I’ll carry you,” she says smugly. Catra rolls their eyes at the offer but doesn’t protest, going a little limp in her arms as she carries them back to the makeshift bed from below the shoulders, chin still resting against her shoulder. Adora - admittedly awkwardly - squats down, aiming to move to her back and allow Catra to lie down on her chest. The maneuver doesn’t <em>quite</em> work as smoothly as Adora wished - instead of the intended graceful glide down and backwards, she takes more of a vaguely-calculated tumble.</p><p>Catra briefly laughs at the fall, but starts purring when they realise how comfortable their position is. Gently pulling the covers on top of the two, they let their body slip slightly off of Adora’s so as to keep some pressure off of her ribcage. Not too much though - they were not giving up this comfortable of a position.</p><p>“Hey, Catra?” Her voice is so gentle it almost hurts.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>Adora holds the tip of their chin in her hand, tilts it upwards just a little. Just enough so she can look into their eyes.</p><p>“You’re the most handsome person I’ve met in my entire life.”</p><p>Catra goes bright red at this - Adora’s not even sure how it’s showing through her fluff.</p><p>“I love you <em>so</em> much,” they whisper, tearing up a little at the realisation that Adora was giving them all of the acknowledgement and love that the Fright Zone never wanted Catra to feel.</p><p>Adora lets her hand move to Catra’s back, holding them with as much love as they can express through touch alone.</p><p>“I love you too, Catra.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i haven't revised this so if there's grammar issues i'll finish them when i'm not running on like 5 hours of sleep</p></blockquote></div></div>
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